Although it’s been out for purchase on their official website for a week already, Alberta Cross‘s newest, five-track release, “The Rolling Thunder EP,” is now officially out. After debuting a few teaser singles, "Money For the Weekend" and "Get Up, (not on the EP)," both featured on ads for Ketel One Vodka and Verizon’s Droid Bionic "Ring," and "Wait," the quintet delivered a beautifully crafted series of songs that blend signature howling vocals, mysterious echoing effects, bluesly, bassy sultriness, rocking slide guitar, and the touching elements of folk. The EP opens with the fiery "Money For the Weekend," and follows with the seductive "Ramblin’ Home," eerie "Wait," (streaming below) bossanova-rock-infused "Driving With Myself," and finishes with the poignant, piano-driven title track. You can check out Alberta Cross on tour with Portugal.The Man over the next couple of months. They’ll be in New York on October 20 at Terminal 5. –Meijin Bruttomesso

If the band’s penchant for bright costumes doesn’t draw you in, Superhuman Happiness’s peculiar yet enchanting genre fusion will. The band’s mastermind Stuart Bogie’s roots in Antibalas are evident as he leads the group into a an ever-changing musical adventure through funk, afrobeat, pop, folk, jazz and rock. This dabbling in various genres may have to do with the impressive laundry list of artists Bogie has worked with including TV on the Radio and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. – Read Nancy Chow’s interview with the band here.

At times the jaded lover you might remember hearing in PJ Harvey’s music, at other times claiming Patti Smith’s righteous indignation, Alison Clancy’s music project Huff This! is a rare combination: a strong voice with a light touch. Backed for the most part by a solo piano, Clancy’s modest intensity makes a band feel completely unnecessary. On tracks like "Seahorse," I keep forgetting I’m only listening to a piano most of the time, as her work frequently sounds large and orchestral. There’s a serious weight to this deceivingly laid-back music that can take multiple listens to really settle in, but your time will be aptly rewarded. – Read Mike Levine interview with Alison Cnancy here.

Sporting t-shirts and jeans and short haircuts, it might be easy to confuse We Barbarians with New Order- era Euro arena rock, but they are indeed Long Beach, NY natives. Living in Brooklyn now, they’ve been hard at it. In the past five years, they’ve released four records and have opened for big indie bands from Ra Ra Riot to Tokyo Police Club. Their latest self- released EP Headspace contains a much more direct and close-mic’ed sound than their previous EP’s, which were much more dronier and awash in reverb by comparison.
Standout “Chambray” yields that classic righteous warrior sound we’ve been hearing from bands like U2 for years now, but David has the voice capable of delivering a range to easily rival Bono’s, and the three-piece locks it in for anyone missing singers like Jeff Buckley singing to the rafters.
Arguably, the standout is their cover of David Byrne’s “Strange Overtones”. We Barbarians’ treatment of this classic marries Byrne’s world music dance vibe to Quon’s penchant for anthems. It’s a unique idea, and I give them credit for owning up to the challenge.
After so many EP’s released in such short succession, I can only imagine a full-length is on the docket. But right now the band is getting ready for a tour, so I’m hoping they announce new dates soon! – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

Lotte Kestner has the quiet, understated intensity made possible by her bare bones production.  She is reminiscent of Seattle’s Tiny Vipers, but even more closely related to the likes of Grouper with her wonderfully thin, beautiful, reverb kissed vocals.  Her compositions in general, at the heart of them, are melancholy folk meditations.  Rather than evoking woodsy, finger-picked platitudes, they manifest feelings of dissolution and isolation.

China Mountain, Kestner’s last release in 2009 named after a mountain range in southern Oregon, was recorded over a year in her basement bedroom, and mixed with Trespassers bandmate Matt Brown.  Recently, on September 27th, Kestner released a cover of The National’s "Conversation 16", which with her stripped down means, lays bare the effectiveness of the vocal pattern and lyrics, acting as a kind of distillation showcasing what makes the song function in its essence. 

Sounding unlike any new band you’ll hear all year, The Stepkids capture all the glitter and gold of classic seventies funk, R&B and soul music with such expertise that their recently released self-titled debut album could convince as a rediscovered lost recording from that era. Channeling the spirit of Earth Wind & Fire, Sly Stone, Todd Rundgren and dozens of others, but with their own personalities stamped all over their work, the Connecticut/NYC-based three piece could very well be considered a 21st century successor to those great artists. The band will be headlining The Deli’s CMJ show at Pianos on Thursday 10.20, sharing the stage with other rising NYC artists like Caveman, Zambri, Ill Fits and Forest Fire. The full schedule of the Deli CMJ shows will be announced later this week.

At Saturday, October 1’s late night show, Bright Light Social Hour and Black Taxi (in the picture) brought Mercury Lounge down with an fantastic show. Austin’s BLSH, who whipped the crowd into a sweaty dancing frenzy with their infectious grooves, more than warmed up the audience in preparation for Black Taxi. It was the perfect way to celebrate the band’s new single, "Tightrope” (check out the track below), which they performed among other already addictive new tracks, amplifying the anticipation of their sophomore album, "We Don”t Know Any Better," scheduled for release in early 2012, and fan favorites, “Love Song For a Ghost,” “Shoeshine,” and “It’s a Ball.” During the closer, “Up Here for Thinking (Down there for Dancing),” the band welcomed the audience to join them for an on stage dance finale, ending the show on the highest of notes. Don’t miss Black Taxi as they traverse the east coast and perform thrice for CMJ at The Studio at Webster Hall, Bowery Electric, and Mercury Lounge on Octoer 18, 20, and 22, respectively. –Meijin Bruttomesso

Local scene update:

A couple of members of the late Baltimore band, You, Me, and Everyone We Know, have apparently remembered that rock and roll is awesome and started a new indie-pop project, The Little Indians. You’ll hear the echoes of YMAEWK in this band, but the sound is definitely different.

I actually don’t like the label "indie-pop" for The Little Indians. I mean, it’s completely, irrevocably appropriate, but they seem to err on the side of rock and roll more than the electronic dance hall side of indie-pop. It’s maybe more indie/pop than indie-pop. Does that even make sense? I highly doubt it, so allow me to provide a brief illustration. Imagine that Her Space Holiday and Matt and Kim and Chairlift all got together and gang banged your favorite pop-punk bands from when you were 14, producing a child whose cries all resound as catchy, melodic hooks. And further imagine that child grew up appreciating the classic American sounds of the 50’s and 60’s, incorporating those soulful melodies with optimistic, feel good lyrics. (This metaphor has gone on far too long already. I’ll stop now before it gets really bad.)

At least, that’s what their first single, "What Makes You Grin" seems to sound like. It also sounds like there are plenty more releases coming soon, so keep your ears to the ground! In the meantime, check out "What Makes You Grin" and judge the band for yourself. Like what you hear? Leave some love in the comments.

–Jarrett